Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, acclaimed mathematician and subject of Hidden Figures, has passed away

Question

https://abcnews.go.com/US/katherine-johnson-mathematician-real-life-subject-hidden-figures/story?id=69176001

It is so heartbreaking to hear that she has passed away. She really paved the way for other women and people of color to be able to do what they dreamed of. 

Comments

Thank you, Liz, for bringing to our attention the passing of this remarkable woman. And thanks to Summer Seely for creating Katherine's WikiTree profile last year.

The link is available as a source citation in the profile, but for those who might want to read the brief, official NASA biography: https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography.

Katherine was awarded an honorary doctorate from the College of William and Mary in May 2018, which I believe she was able to attend. I had the good fortune to be working with NASA at the Johnson Space Center when celebrations were held surrounding NASA's 60th anniversary on 1 October 2018. Katherine was one of the space-exploration pioneers feted during the presentations but, alas, she couldn't attend.

Thanks, too, to Margot Lee Shetterly for writing the book, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race. Shetterly penned that short NASA biography linked above. And also a note of thanks to Theodore Melfi and and Allison Schroeder for making the book into a major motion picture in 2016, finally bringing Katherine Johnson to the deserved attention of a much broader audience.

Answer 1

I saw her notice on FB yesterday and was saddened. While she lived a good long life, I was terribly sorry to hear of her death. She was history in the making, a brilliant woman who made 'space' available through her calculations. She is a wonderful exemplar for Black History month. May she be another star who rests in peace among the stars that she helped us reach.

Sadly, at this time, I am traveling for work. If a profile is needed or not completed for Katherine Johnson, I will do so when I return on Monday. It is the least that I can do for a woman who did so much for all us in reaching the moon.

Comments

It would be wonderful if there was some (legal) way of having this image on her profile (it's beautiful).

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/steve-breen/story/2020-02-24/katherine-johnson-nasa-mathematician-dies-at-101